I actually had very little experience of strangers trying to give me stuff when I was a kid, I'm not sure what to make of that.

The handy thing about making up your own scenarios is that you can be sure that there are no strings attached; at least the stranger is in no position to attach them. The only thing that might count is that the stranger can choose when to stop paying 10%, so if you get used to the discount it might come as a bit of a shock when it disappears.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with such sexist comments on this blog Andrea, so watch it. It's true that the stuff you're likely to buy with your increased buying power will be stuff you need less (otherwise you'd already be buying it!). But is this a bad thing, I like sales.

completely off topic, but i just read that their is now a product that allows chicks to pee standing. I'm not sure how many women are going to buy one of these things, but if some stranger is paying 10%, it'll definitely improve sales.

The problem with sales is that they cause the queues to swell. Giving stuff away wouldn't get into the scrum during the January sale on Oxford street. Same reason why I don't get the cheap DVD's at Rhondebosch cafe.